HKU Faculty of Law kicks off its Golden Jubilee Celebration with an international conference on Public Law

Established in 1969, The Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong is the first law school in Hong Kong and one of the most prestigious law schools internationally. The Faculty kicked off its Golden Jubilee celebration with the Annual Conference of The International Society of Public Law (ICON-S 2018) on 25 June 2018.

It was the fifth Annual Conference of ICON-S and the first time the conference was held in Asia since the foundation of the Society in 2013. The conference featured top scholars in public law and eminent judges, and more than 700 scholars and researchers from all over the world, who gathered to examine and exchange ideas on a wide range of topics central to public law scholarship and practice today, under an overarching theme of "Identity, Security, Democracy: Challenges for Public Law". To kick off the 50th Anniversary Celebration, a short ceremony was held at the evening, attended by conference participants, friends, donors, supporters, partners, alumni of the Faculty. The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal congratulated the success of the Faculty, "The statistics, the accomplishments, the many alumni who have made great achievements[1] all evidence the remarkable development of the Faculty over the past 50 years. Yet, for me, all these facets of a successful faculty within a modern, prestigious university, important as no doubt they are, nevertheless do not represent the ultimate achievement of the Faculty. And this achievement can be described as the contribution it has made to the community and the Faculty's proper role within it".

Professor Michael Hor, Dean of Law, joined Professor Andy Hor, Acting President and Vice-Chancellor of the University in thanking different stakeholders in supporting the Faculty in the past 50 years, enabling the Faculty to make significant contributions in major areas of law and venture into new dimensions of development. With the theme "Law, Justice and Humanity: 50 Years and Beyond"; a variety of events will be organized until the end of 2019. Some academic and social events have already been scheduled in 2018:

Other celebration activities will include but not limited to the following:

Anniversary Publication: A commemorative volume by Dr Christopher Munn on the Faculty's 50 years of service and its impact on the local community, including interviews with current and former students and members of the Faculty.

Walking Tour: A walking tour route (about 2 to 3 hours, in Central/Western District) will be customized to trace the path of the Faculty development in parallel with the evolution of the legal systems in Hong Kong.

RTHK Programme: A documentary in collaboration with RTHK on the impact and contribution that the Faculty has made in the last 50 years in shaping the development of legal education, legal system and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Video Archive: The Faculty is building a Video Archive of major public lectures, conferences and speeches by prominent legal figures, both local and overseas. The treasure trove of knowledge, with more than 1,000 recordings, will be open to the public through online viewing.

Gala Dinner: Finale of the Celebration in November/ December 2019.

Please visit 50.law.hku.hk for the latest information of the activities.

Note 1. Such as, most recently, The Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung, the present Chief Judge of the High Court who will join the Court of Final Appeal in October.